Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence, and William Kamkwamba has it in spades. At age 14, while many of us were sneaking out of classrooms, William was struggling to sneak into them — his family was unable to afford the $US80 annual tuition. As is bound to happen to most students, he was caught. But instead of being sent to detention, he was barred from the school. In a show of the driven man he would become, he didn’t allow that to hinder him and instead started spending his days in the local library. While there, he encountered a book called Using Energy:

Using Energy described how windmills could be used to generate electricity. Only two percent of Malawians have electricity, and the service is notoriously unreliable. William decided an electric windmill was something he wanted to make. Illuminating his house and the other houses in his village would mean that people could read at night after work. A windmill to pump water would mean that they could grow two crops a year rather than one, grow vegetable gardens, and not have to spend two hours a day hauling water. “A windmill meant more than just power,” he wrote, “it was freedom.”

This book is what changed his life. And I don’t mean that as an exaggeration. It was truly what made a difference in his life. Because of that book, and the potential he saw in its ideas, William began to build:

William scoured trash bins and junkyards for materials he could use to build his windmill. With only a couple of wrenches at his disposal, and unable to afford even nuts and bolts, he collected things that most people would consider garbage-slime-clogged plastic pipes, a broken bicycle, a discarded tractor fan-and assembled them into a wind-powered dynamo. For a soldering iron, he used a stiff piece of wire heated in a fire. A bent bicycle spoke served as a size adaptor for his wrenches.

Imagine that. A young boy being so motivated by ideas and the sheer need to build something life-changing that he discovered materials and uses for them which most of us wouldn’t even dream of. As Mark Frauenfelder put it:

For an educated adult living in a developed nation, designing and building a wind turbine that generates electricity is something to be proud of. For a half-starved, uneducated boy living in a country plagued with drought, famine, poverty, disease, a cruelly corrupt government, crippling superstitions, and low expectations, it’s another thing altogether. It’s nothing short of monumental.

After completing his first windmill, William “went on to wire his house with four light bulbs and two radios, installing switches made from rubber sandals, and scratch-building a circuit breaker to keep the thatch roof of his house from catching fire”. His project had the attention of village locals early on, but at this point he gained the attention of TED, Technology Entertainment Design, through whom he was introduced to individuals willing to contribute to his plans to “electrify, irrigate, and educate his village, as well as pay his tuition at the prestigious African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg.”

In short: A young man struggled to educate himself, to build something his village needed, and in the end made a difference to the entire locale and gained the education he’d always wanted. Yes, it’s a fluffy, feel-good story with a happy ending. What should you take from the it? Maybe that there’s hope in the bleakest of situations, maybe that your teachers and parents were right about the power of education, maybe just that I’m a sappy bookworm with a soft spot for happy endings. No matter, if you wish to learn more, you can read the recently released The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, check out William’s blog, or peek at this video from before he ever wrote his autobiography. [GOOD via Boing Boing]

However, Intel tells us that it has not nailed down the launch of Pine Trail yet, though maintains it will ship products to its customers before the end of the year. MSI hopes to be first to market with Pine Trail netbooks, including its 10-inch convertible U150 with Windows 7.

Either way, the sooner we get a newer Atom the better (also keep in mind the next version of the all-popular Atom also differs by blending the CPU and GPU on the same chip). According to MSI’s Andy Tung, Pine Trail is showing improved graphics performance and at least 20 percent better power consumption.

Either way, here is hoping the netvertible with its planned resistive touchscreen performs better than ASUS’ Eee PC T91. However its lack of a capacitive screen and multitouch support means it won’t support any of Windows 7’s cool Touch Pack apps.

But before going touch, MSI will release the 12-inch Wind U210, which like the recently released Gateway LT3100, has AMD’s Yukon platform rather than Intel’s Atom. MSI will offer it in two different skus, including one with Windows XP, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive for $US379 and another with Vista Premium for $US429. The U210 will be available in the U.S. during the first weeks of September.

Let me save you $US100 with a tip. The wind, old as time and completely free, will push your kid around the pool on a rubber raft faster than this inflatable speedboat.

Plus, the wind doesn’t require huge expensive D batteries, of which this inflatable cash sink requires eight.

The wind also dissipates eventually, takes up no room in your garage, and won’t pop or become mangled when your kid—innocent and adorable, yes, but naive as fuck—tries to use this thing on the lawn when he gets bored in the pool.

Still not convinced? The 360 degree movement, all at a neck-breaking 3.2kph, is too much to pass up? OK, then, purchase away. Just be sure to send us a picture of the thing in six months when it’s stuffed in a closet next to your Snuggie collection. [Cooolest Gadgets]

Just like we’ve seen manufacturers like Dell push netbooks to the 12-inch barrier, Engadget China spotted a new offering from MSI that looks to follow suit.

The Vista system features a 12-inch (1366 x 768) LED screen, GMA 4500M integrated graphics, 802.11n Wi-Fi, 2GB RAM, and 250GB of storage, when equipped with a 3-cell battery, the system slims down to just 3lbs. But the battery life can’t be fantastic in that configuration.

The price is estimated somewhere around $US700. We’re guessing that MSI will drop that figure if/when we see the U200 pop up in the US. Hmm, maybe we should make that, “hoping” MSI will drop that figure if/when we see the U200 pop up in the US. [Engadget China via Engadget]

MSI has gotten more official with its Wind Top AE1900—the nettop that only needs a 45W trickle of power—finally giving us a price: $US529. Which is cheaper than some “netbooks” nowadays.

MSI Eco-Friendly All-in-One PC, Wind Top AE1900, features touch screen, sleek and
green design at an affordable price of $529

See this and other MSI Desktop models at the Pepcom EcoFocus Green Technology Showcase in
New York City April 29th from 6pm – 9pm

CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA – April 21, 2009 – MSI Computer, a leading manufacturer of computer hardware products and solutions, is excited to announce the MSI Wind Top AE1900. The AE1900 is a complete home computing solution featuring touch-sensitive PC navigation, a true 16:9 widescreen 18.5-inch screen, SRS Premium Sound and a sleek modern design that fits in with any décor.

The MSI Wind Top AE1900 features the Intel® Atom 230 Processor and runs Windows® XP Home operating system. It features a built-in webcam and microphone to insure convenient audio and video recording. Continuing along MSI’s tradition of “green” computing, the MSI Wind Top AE1900 consumes 80% less energy then a traditional desktop PC. At full operation, the MSI Wind Top AE1900 consumes no more then 50 watts of power.

MSI also included a spacious 160 GB SATA 2.5 inch hard drive, 4 USB ports, a 4-1 card reader and ships the MSI Wind Top AE1900 with a stylish matching mouse and keyboard. The ultra-silent, state-of-the-art cooling system eliminates traditional cooling fan noises and keeps the sound level to no more than 26 decibels.

The MSI Wind Top AE1900 features MSI Wind Touch; allowing for easy user interface with all PC functions. Additionally, picture viewing has never been easier or more fun with MSI Easy Viewer. Users can quickly browse, enlarge, rotate and scan through all your images with the swipe of a finger. Lastly, data entry using natural handwriting or the touch on-screen keyboard and the SoftStylus™ program is now easier then ever. Please visit www.msicomputer.com/msiaio for a user-friendly and dedicated webpage designed specifically for MSI All-in-One PC.

[MSI]

X340 feature the HD LCD! Is among first notebooks to utilise Intel’s CULV CPU!

CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA is excited to release the full specifications! The new Wind U123 and the X320 & X340 X-Slim Notebooks model offer features the new processor.

The Wind U123 offers users an ergonomics designed keyboard and touch pad for comfortable!!

Typing and an enlarged 10.2″ LCD display are perfect for browsing without.

Squinting MSI also included EasyFace identification software to protect confidential data and for the first time. Offering the Wind in blue and red in addition to the standard white and grey coloured models.

U123
Intel® Atom™ Processor 1.66GHz (N280)
Windows XP Home
Intel® 945GSE + ICH7M
Intel® UMA GMA950
1GB DDR2 533MHz ( One expandable memory dimm slot )
10.2″ WSVGA (1024 x 600) LED
160GB / 2.5″ SATA HDD
4 in 1 (XD / SD/ MMC/ Memory Stick)
D-sub x1, USB 2.0 X3, Mic-in, Headphone RJ45 , TV Antenna Connector
6 Cell/ 9 cell (Optional)
802.11 b/g, b/g/n, Bluetooth V2.0EDR
Dimensions 10.24″ x 7.08″ x 0.38″~ 1.30″
Weight 2.98 lbs with 6-Cell battery

X320/340
Intel® Atom™ Z530 1.6GHz Processor Intel® ULV™ SU3500
Windows Vista Home Premium
13.4″ (Glare / 1366×768)
8.8″(L) x 12.9″(W) x 0.7″(H)
2.8 lbs with 4-Cell battery
Intel® US15W Intel® GS45+ICH9M-SFF
Intel® GMA500 Intel® GMA4500MHD
DDR2-667 up to 2GB DDR2-800 up to 4GB
250GB / 2.5″ SATA HDD 320GB / 2.5″ SATA HDD
LAN 10/100 Gb LAN Gb LAN
Wireless LAN 802.11b/g/n 802.11b/g/n
Connection 3G / WiMAX (Optional)
Battery 4 Cell/ 8 cell (Optional)

Every major netbook manufacturer has their own budget MacBook Air-like system coming to the market soon. Here’s the first look at something slightly more spacious, MSI’s X340, a full-sized 13.4-inch laptop in a petite frame.

The sub-1.3kg system toured in this clip is loaded with an Intel Celeron M 725, which should be faster than an Atom. The 15.6-inch version comes with a Core 2 Solo. More about ‘em both here.

Those of you who speak German will probably mind the incessant slurs intended to offend American audiences, but luckily, I don’t speak a word of it so I was able to enjoy the mechanics of battery removal with no guilt for enjoying my sausages on a bun. [via CrunchGear]

The Wind Top AE1900 is an Atom 230-based system, supporting a max of 2GB of RAM on top of a 160GB hard drive, DVD burner, wireless n, card reader and webcam. But what makes it all exciting is the system’s 18.5-inch WSXGA 16:9 touch screen LCD, complete with a quick 5ms response time. You see, even with this much screen space, the computer needs only 45W to operate. And yes, that factoid is totally worth regurgitating my headline to reinforce that 45W is less than many light bulbs need.

As Rob at bbGadgets points out, “Now, I’m almost certain I had an Apple monitor that looked just like this about 7 years ago…” We’re pretty sure, too. The crazy thing is that this whole computer will cost thousand(s) less than that Apple Studio Display when it comes out to an undisclosed market at an undisclosed time. [MSI via bbGadgets]

And no, we don’t mean wind-microphone attenuation. We mean, can it recognise how hard you are blowing into the phone? Because the IM-S410 features “Wind Recognition” that allows you navigate photos, videos and games by blowing into the phone.

For instance, in a bundled game, you can blow on a flower to watch its pedals float away. During a call, you can blow into the mic to send your companion an emoticon (what were you thinking?). Or, if we’re reading the translation correctly, you can even blow into the phone to take pictures—which might actually cause less shaking than pushing a button.

There are, of course, other features to the IM-S410/S410K. But we’re just concerned with the ones that blow. [Pantech via Akihabara News]